Ball pens



Dec. 13, 1966 J. v. R. HELITAS 3,291,101

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1 i 33 f5 25,6 2@ I) 1i 3 1 1li* United States Patent O 3,291,101 BALL PENS Jules Victor Robert Helitas, Asnieres, France, assigner to Le Foyer et Cie, a corporation of France Filed Dec. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 327,709 Claims priority, application France, May 2, 1963, 933,466 6 Claims. (Cl. 1Z0-42.03)

The present invention relates to improved ball pens, and particularly to pens of the type wherein a pushbutton thereof assumes the same position for the two conditions of the pen, viz. the condition wherein the ball is in the operative or writing position and that where it is in the inoperative or retracted position. In ball pens of such a type, the user has no way of being informed about the condition of the pen other than by inspecting the writing end thereof.

It is a main object of the invention to provide an improved ball pen wherein the condition of the pen is disclosed by simply viewing the push-button end.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved ball pen the condition of which is disclosed in a distinct and unambiguous Way.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a ball pen of this type which is aesthetically more pleasing than convention ball pens.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an improved ball pen which is produced without substantially modifying the basic construction of the pen and the assembly of the constituent parts, while resorting only to one additional member for the production thereof.

According to one feature of the invention, the pushbutton of the ball pen is fitted with a sleeve member in sliding relationship therewith, the condition of the ball pen being disclosed by whether the push-button projects beyond said sleeve member.

By selecting contrasting shades and/or different materials for the push-button, on one hand, and for the sleeve member, on the other, a simple and distinct indication of the condition of the ball pen will be achieved.

The invention will be best understood from the following specification and appended drawings, wherein:

FIGURE l illustrates a ball pen according to the invention in the writing condition, as seen in elevation.

FIGURE 2 is a similar view to that of FIGURE l, the ball pen being in the retracted position.

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the upper end portion of the ball pen according to the invention, for the writing condition.

FIGURE 4 is a similar view to that of FIGURE 3, for the retracted condition of the ball.

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view, on a reduced scale, of the sleeve member.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view along line 6--6 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is an elevational View, on a reduced scale, of the upper portion of the push-button of the improved ball pen according to the invention.

Referring to the drawings, a ball pen according to the invention comprises a body or cap member 10 at its upper or rear end, i.e. the end opposite to the writing tip thereof. Said cap member, preferably metallic, contains inside thereof a skirt 11 made preferably of plastic material and which bears against a rim 13 of the cap through its upper portion 12. Said skirt 11 is formed at its lower portion with rack teeth 14 having extended slopes or inclines 15 and reduced inclines 16, two adjacent pairs of inclines 15 and 16 being spaced apart by a longitudinal slot 17. Said slots are adapted, on

3,291,101 Patented Dec. 13, 1966 the one hand, to serve as a longitudinal sliding guide through the projections 18 thereof, for push-button 19 the tubular body Ztl of which terminates in an upper bottom 21. The lower annular portion of the pushbutton is formed with rack teeth 22 the inclines of which are shown in 23. Said inclines cooperate with associated inclines 24 constituting the upper portion of bosses 25 projecting radially from a turnbuckle 26 slidingly and rotatably mounted inside said push-button 19 and formed as a tubular body 29 closed by an upper bottom 30 having a curved inner face 31. Inside said turnbuckle is located the upper portion 32 of the support or tubular container 33 the lower end of which is adapted to carry the writing ball. Said support is urged by a return spring (not illustrated), in the direction indicated by arrow F and a spring 34, weaker than the return spring, is inserted between bottom 30 of turnbuckle 26 and bottom 21 of push-button 19.

The ball pen as described hereinabove is moved from the retracted condition to the operative or writing condition by pushing push-button 19 inwardly and releasing the same and the change from the writing or operative position to the retracted or inoperative position is also achieved by pushing down push-button 19 and releasing the same, the final position being the same in both positions.

FIGURES 1 and 3 show the writing position of the pen; the ball carrier 33 bears against bottom 30 of turnbuckle 26, the latter, in turn, bearing, through its bosses 25, against the bottom of the recesses formed by inclines 15 of skirt 11 and the adjacent longitudinal side portions 36. In the other or retracted position (FIG- URES 2 and 4), the ball carrier 33 bears through its upper end against bottom 30 of turnbuckle 26 on the convex face 31 thereof, said turnbuckle bearing, in turn, through its bosses 25, on the angles formed by inclines 23 of the push-button and the adjacent rectilinear portions 37, said push-button 19 bearing, in turn, through its projections 18, against bottom 33 of recesses 17. (In FIGURE 4, boss 25 is shown angularly spaced apart, by an angle formed by the incline 23 and the adjacent rectilinear portion 37, for the clarity of the drawing.)

According to the invention, in the gap 50 between the internal surface 51 of skirt 11 and the outer surface of push-button 19, there is positioned a sleeve 53 (FIG- URES 5 and 6), the diameter of the inner surface 55 and the diameter of the outer surface 54 of which are such, that said sleeve may move lengthwise relative both to skirt 11 and to push-button 19. Sleeve 53 has a generally cylindrical shape and is open at its upper end 56 and at its lower end 57. A longitudinal tongue 58 is cut out at its lower portion, along generating lines 59 and 61), said tongue being defined by sides 61 and 62 and the edge 63. Said tongue is curved inwardly4 by folding over by its connection with the remainder of the sleeve, substantially at right angles, and is inserted inside push-button 19 through a longitudinal port 64 (FIG- URE 7) formed in the latter, said port having longitudinal sides 65 and 66 and transverse sides 67 and 68. Spring 34 acts against the upper surface 69 of the folded tongue, soithat the same remains engaged through its lower face 70, with the upper face 71 of the bottom 30 of the turnbuckle.

In the condition shown in FIGURE 3, viz. the writing condition, bottom 3@ of turnbuckle 26 is at its lower position, as is also sleeve 53 which follows said turnbuckle in its longitudinal movements under the action of spring 34. Thus, in this condition, sleeve 53 allows through its upper end, a substantial portion of the push-button to appear (FIG-URES l and 3).

In the other or retracted condition of the ball, as

shown in FIGURES 2 and 4, sleeve 53 is in its upper position, so that it completely screens the side surface of the push-button, which is however in the same position relative to the cap of the pen as in the previous condition. The side surface of push-button 19 is therefore no longer visible, thus enabling to clearly distinguish the retracted condition from the writing condition, wherein the side surface of the push-button is visible.

It is also within the contemplation of the invention that the writing condition or the retracted condition of the ball is disclosed by the appearance, behind a window or port of the ball pen cap, of a colored region on the push-button, which then follows the ball support in its longitudinal movements.

What I claim is:

1. In a ball-pen with a ball support-member retractable relative to the body of the ball-pen under the action of a push-button having the same position both in the operative and in the retracted condition of the ball: visual indicator means attached to said ball support-member and having two different positions with respect to said body depending on whether the ball is in the operative or in the retracted position, mechanical means between said indicator means and support-member, said visual indicator means being operated by said mechanical means to obscure the push-button in one position and to expose the push-button in the other position.

2. In a ball-pen with a ball support-member which is selectively retractable and project relative to the body of the ball-pen under the action of a pushbutton slidingly mounted at the end of the body of the ball-pen opposite the ball and wherein said push-button occupies a common position both for the retracted and projecting state of the ball support member, a sleeve member surrounding the push-button and mounted in sliding relationship with respect to the latter and projecting relative to the end of said body, and mechanical attaching means between the ball support-member and said sleeve member, whereby the latter is caused to move along with said ball supportmember, said sleeve being operatively positioned relative to the push-button to obscure the same in the projecting position and to expose the push-button in the retracted position.

3. In a ball-pen comprising a tubular body, a pushbutton slidingly mounted at one end of said body, a ball support-member housed in longitudinal relationship in said body and mechanical means inserted between said push-button and said ball support-member to set the ball in the retracted or in the projecting position relative to the body by actuating the push-button from a common position, said mechanical means comprising a tubular member with a bearing bottom for abutting the end of the support-member opposite the ball, said tubular member including bosses, said push-button including ratchet means for engaging said bosses to rotate and displace the tubular member, said body also including ratchet means for receiving the bosses to hold the tubular member in a position in which the ball support-member is extended and to release the tubular member to permit the ball support-member to return to retracted position, a sleeve member slidingly mounted between said push-button and said tubular member, a transversal tab integral with the sleeve member and adapted to pass through a longitudinal window formed in the later, spring means inserted between the bottom of the push-button and said' transversal tab to maintain the latter abuted against the bearing bottom of said tubular member, said sleeve member in the retracted position of the tubular member surrounding the push-button while in the projected position of the tubular member exposing the push-button.

4. In a ball-pen with a body and a ball-support which is retractable or extendable relative to the body under the action of a push-button by means of a rotatable member having a transversal bottom: an improvement wherein the push-button is provided with an internal longitudinal slot, a sliding sleeve surrounding said push-button, a 5 transverse lug integral with said sleeve at the inner portion thereof, and a spring inserted between the pushbutton and the transverse lug to maintain the latter in engagement with the bottom of said rotatable member, said rotatable member including bosses, said push-button including a ratchet portion engageable with the bosses to rotate the rotatable member and displace the same, and a ratchet portion on the body for receiving said bosses to hold the rotatable member in displaced position with the ball-support extended and to release the bosses to permit retraction of the ball-support, said push-button occupying the same position both for the extended and retracted states of the ball-suppport, such that the sleeve exposes the push-button in the extended state of the ballsupport and conceals the push-button in the retracted state of the ball-support.

5. In `a ball-pen comprising a body, a ball support slidably mounted relatively to said body, a tubular pushbutton having a lower portion for controlling projection and retraction of the ball support and the ball thereof, said button having the same protruding position -relatively to the body for the projected `and the retracted states of the ball: a sleeve surrounding said push-button having a contrasted surface relative to that of the push-button, and slidably mounted relative to the latter and to said body, a longitudinal window in said push-button, a transverse tab integral with said sleeve and passing through said longitudinal Window, and spring means between the bottom of said push-button and said transverse tab for urging the push-button to follow the movement of the ball support, such that the push-button is obscured by the sleeve in the retracted position of the ball and is exposed in the projecting position of the ball.

6. In a ball-pen comprising a tubular body, a pushbutton slidingly mounted at one end of said body and having a bottom portion and a longitudinal window, said push-button including ratchet elements at said bottom portion, a ball support member longitudinally accommodated with said body and having projecting and re- L tracted positions relative thereto, a tubular turnbuckle slidingly mounted in said push-button and including bosses adapted to cooperate with the ratchet elements of the push-button, said push-button having the same protruding position relative to the body in the projecting and the retracted states of the ball: a sleeve slidingly mounted between said push-button and the tubular body, a transverse tab integral with said sleeve in contact with the bottom of the tubular turnbuckle and extending into said push-button through the longitudinal window thereof, and spring means between the bottom portion of said push-button and the tab to maintain the latter in Contact with the bottom of the tubular turnbuckle, whereby the push-button is obscured by the sleeve in the retracted position of the ball and is exposed in the projected position ofthe ball.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,589,905 3/1952 Wagner 120-14.5 3,103,205 9/1963 Legnani 1Z0-42.13

FOREIGN PATENTS 68,805 3/1941 Czechoslovakia. 1,022,124 1/1958 Germany.

EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner. H. F. ROSS, Examiner. 

1. IN A BALL-PEN WITH A BALL SUPPORT-MEMBER RETRACTABLE RELATIVE TO THE BODY OF THE BALL-PEN UNDER THE ACTION OF A PUSH-BUTTON HAVING THE SAME POSITION BOTH IN THE OPERATIVE AND IN THE RETRACTED CONDITION OF THE BALL: VISUAL INDICATOR MEANS ATTACHED TO SAID BALL SUPPORT-MEMBER AND HAVING TWO DIFFERENT POSITIONS WITH RESPECT TO SAID BODY DEPENDING ON WHETHER THE BALL IS IN THE OPERATIVE OR IN THE RETRACTED POSITION, MECHANICAL MEANS BETWEEN SAID INDICATOR MEANS AND SUPPORT-MEMBER, SAID VISUAL INDICATOR MEANS BEING OPERATED BY SAID MECHANICAL MEANS 